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Barcelona star makes Manchester United wish
Barcelona winger Raphinha had linked up with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets when he snubbed some Premier League giants like Chelsea and Arsenal to complete a £55m move to Barcelona last summer.
The Brazilian forward had since shared a dressing room with some of the best players in the world at Barcelona but had gone on to make a wish from Old Trafford.
The 26-year-old former Leeds United star had admitted that he would love to be able to call his fellow Brazil international Casemiro a team-mate at club level too National Daily gathered.
Casemiro who spent almost a decade at Barca’s La Liga rivals Real Madrid had joined Manchester United for £70m last summer.
And Casemiro who won five Champions League titles with Real has since arrival established himself as one of United’s most important players and will be hoping to help the Red Devils get past Barcelona in the Europa League.
The first-leg of the Europa League play-off takes place at the Nou Camp on Thursday evening, with Barcelona visiting Old Trafford for the second leg on February 23.
Brazilian winger Raphinha wishes to have compatriot Casemiro as team-mate at the Nou Camp
‘Man, Casemiro is a player that I always talk about to my friends and family,’ Raphinha told ESPN Brazil. ‘He’s a player that I’d particularly like to have on my team.
‘In addition to the experience he has in football and all the things he has achieved in football, he’s a great leader, he’s a great person, and he manages to complete a team with the quality he has.
‘For me, he’s one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.’
Both Manchester United and Barcelona go into the Europa League clash in impressive form.
United have climbed to third in the Premier League and reached the League Cup final under Erik ten Hag, while Xavi’s Barcelona have stormed eight points clear at the top of La Liga.
Ahead of the Nou Camp fixture, Xavi has praised Ten Hag for transforming Manchester United and turning Marcus Rashford into ‘one of the most dangerous players in Europe’.
‘Ten Hag is a great coach,’ Xavi said. ‘In my mind I believe that somehow [reversing] the situation of United was no easy task and he’s accomplishing it.
‘They are excited again, the club, the fanbase and also the way they play does a lot. He changes things offensively, defensively, everyone’s working very well, so it’s a tough rival for us and he’s a very interesting coach.’
On Rashford – who has scored 21 goals so far this season – Xavi added: ‘In the transition he is very, very dangerous so we need to take care of all of them but especially Rashford.
‘He’s one of the most dangerous players now in Europe.’